Category: Equipment

Playworld Systems Offers High ENERGI

We hope all our readers had a good holiday weekend, but we assume everyone likely indulged a bit too much. This isn’t a new trend in America, but it is something that needs to be addressed, especially as childhood obesity is becoming an issue.

We were pleased to hear that Playworld Systems, a manufacturer of imaginative playground equipment, unveiled ENERGI Total Body Fitness System with Microsoft Tag technology at NMSA2010 in Baltimore earlier this month. The ENERGI uses just one moving part, but yet delivers a guided, fat-burning workout with 120 progressively challenging exercises that use body weight resistance to target nearly all 600 of the body’s muscles. The system, which is designed for ages 13 and up, is further supported with a complete curriculum and easy-to-follow lesson plans to help teachers integrate ENGERI into the school day.

“One of the consequences of obesity is that for the first time in U.S. history, the lifespan of children in elementary school today is expected to be shorter than that of their parents,” said Ian Proud, research manager of Playworld Systems. “Sedentary lifestyles contribute to obesity, and the problem has grown to epidemic proportions among the nation’s children. Having ENERGI installed on school grounds gives teachers a strong ally in their quest to make a real difference in students’ fitness levels.”

ENERGI was designed in accordance with the FITT principle — frequency, intensity, time and type — which is endorsed by the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Council on Exercise.

Playworld Systems Official Website

aG Control Comes to aboutGolf

Indoor golf centers can take better control of their aboutGolf Simulators. And not just control, but aG Control, a multiple simulator management tool that is designed to help business owners remotely manage users and rounds on the simulators, as well as monitor rounds while they’re in progress. This provides active simulator screens, where users can send messages to the simulators, retrieve information, analyze usage and even remotely access the simulators and view and print scorecards.

“We are in the people business. We’ve got to know each one of our customers as they arrive,” says Steve Graves, owner of Play-A-Round Golf near Philadelphia and early adopter of aG Control beta. “With aG Control we can better identify and manage each customer and enhance their golf experience.”

This control should no doubt help indoor golf centers and in turn help players have been control on the course.

aboutGolf

SPOT On With CES Innovations Award

The Consumer Electronics Show is still more than a month away, but at the recent CES Unveiled press event in New York City the DeLorme Earthmate PN-60w with SPOT Satellite Communicator was named winner of the CES Innovations Award. The Innovations Design and Engineering Awards program recognizes the most innovative consumer electronics (CE) across 35 of industry categories.

The Earthmate PN-60w was recognized as it the world’s first handheld GPS capable of sending custom text messages using SPOT satellite technology, and is thus ideal for outdoor enthusiasts (as well as international relief workers).

“DeLorme is deeply honored to receive this prestigious award, and especially excited to showcase the PN-60w with SPOT to the worldwide market at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in January,” said DeLorme Vice President Caleb Mason.

The Earthmate PN-60w with SPOT Satellite Communicator previously received a Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award and a National Geographic Adventure Gear of the Year honors.

DeLorme

SPOT

LIVESTRONG Offers Strong Protection for iPad and iPhone 4

RadioShack made a smart move by sponsoring a pro cycling team, and while Lance Armstrong didn’t have the best Tour de France, Team RadioShack did do extremely well overall, winning the team competition. The retailer is also making a smart move by helping promote Lance’s LIVESTRONG campaign, which fights for the 28 million people around the world living with cancer today. Now you can show your team spirit whilst protecting your devices.

For the holidays RadioShack is carrying soft-touch polycarbonate cases that are part of the LIVESTRONG. These cases, which offer robust protection for mobile devices, are available for the Apple iPhone 4 ($24.99) and the iPad ($39.99). The cases boast a slim snap-on design that is form-fitted for the devices, and each adds protection without adding any extra bulk.

The cases feature an impact-resistant materials that provide strength and durability, while the rubberized surface further provides a nice secure grip.

RadioShack

LIVESTRONG

Team RadioShack

Prepping for Those Winter Rides

Winter arrives sooner in some areas. In Minnesota, there’s already a slushy blanket of snow on the ground and temperatures to match. Scott Thayer, GM at Civia, Cycles discussed his morning commute during his morning commute and details gear that’s helpful to make the cold more endurable in those winter months.

Civia Cycles

via [EcoVelo blog]

Pro vs. GI Joe: Season 2 of Rehabbing with the Troops

This week saw the kick off of season 2 of Rehabbing with the Troops, which this year includes a live event with the Washington Redskins form their training facility in Ashburn, Virginia. This year fans can check out live training of 20 wounded warriors working out alongside the Washington Redskins as well as live webcam feeds of warriors from USO Centers in San Antonio, San Diego and Baghdad, Iraq!

Rehabbing with the Troops was created as a partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project and the USO, and sponsored by Armed Forces Insurance. The goal is to connect pros and troops through video games and focusing solely on wounded warriors, providing them fun, yet intense workouts using the Ninetndo Wii console and EA SPORTS Active titles with professional athletes acting as their training partners. This season’s workouts will come from the just-released EA SPORTS Active NFL Training Camp and our warriors’ pro trainers are the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers.

Wounded Warrior Arena Official Website

Hands On: BioGreen PROx from California Bike Gear

KineticShift.com continues our hands on test of water bottles.

California Bike Gear puts an interesting spin on water bottles with the PROx, which are made from 20 percent post industrial recycled plastic. But more importantly these bottles will be gone in two years. Not because the company won’t continue to sell them, but because these can biodegrade in about that time. Talk about planned obsolescence.

California Bike Gear’s Product Description: These enhanced plastic bottles biodegrade in landfills and are the most environmentally responsible product you can buy. They offer the following benefits: Biodegradable – BioGreen Bottles with EcoPure additive are unique in that they biodegrade in an active microbial environment which are present in landfills. EcoPure is a non-toxic additive that actually helps the environment. The final product left behind with EcoPure is humus and methane. Humus regenerates the soil.

Recyclable – The BioGreen Bottles are also fully recyclable in the normal recycle stream.

Reusable – These bottles have the same long useful life as normal LDPE plastic bottles Light, heat or humidity do not activate the degradation process unlike corn/starch based plastics.

Made with Recycled Materials – BioGreen Bottles are made with at least 20% post industrial recycled plastic.

Isn’t “Recyclable” Enough? Recycling is always the best option and BioGreen Bottles are 100% recyclable. The sad truth is over 90% of recyclable bottles wind up in landfills and will remain there for 1000 years. BioGreen Bottles will completely Biodegrade in about two years. Now, that’s Enough! Continue reading Hands On: BioGreen PROx from California Bike Gear

Hands On: Water Bottle Round-up – Specialized Purist with the Watergate Valve

KineticShift.com continues our hands on test of water bottles.

Specialized’s Product Description: In creating the next generation of water bottles the team set out to solve the puzzle of how to combine the two most desired elements in the ideal bottle – the flexibility and safety of a sports bottle with the purity of taste from a drinking glass.

Introducing Purist – With inspiration from nature we have created the first water bottle that offers a taste as pure as drinking from a glass, with all the advantages of a flexible bottle. With a simple rinse, mold and residue are removed ensuring that water drunk from the bottle does not taste like plastic or impurities, but clean and fresh. All you taste is the water. Even in extreme conditions where tomato sauce is left in the bottle overnight, Purist shields the bottle from the taste, smell and staining. Nothing sticks, so your bottle stays cleaner and your water tastes pure.

Nothing tastes better.

Bottle Sizes: 22oz and 26oz
Plastic: Low Density Polyethylene
Country of Manufacture: USA
Retail Price: TBD Continue reading Hands On: Water Bottle Round-up – Specialized Purist with the Watergate Valve

The Fish Can Swim, But They Can’t Hide

Fishing can be a tranquil sport, just you with a pole and all the time in the world. Sometimes you don’t even care if the fish are biting. But the rest of the time you probably want to catch something, and for that there is a nifty little device called a fishfinder. Sure, these devices have been around for more than a decade, but Garmin International has announced its new echo series line of standalone fishfinders that raises the standard for finding the fish.

This line includes devices for all pricepoints as well, from the economical 8-level grayscale unit to the full array models that do everything but cast off for you. The top-of-the-line models include Garmin HD-ID target tracking technology.

The premier high resolution echo 550C offers state-of-the-art technology that almost makes it unsporting (and we mean that in a good way). This unit features an ultra-sharp video-quality 640×480 pixel 5-inch VGA screen, a powerful 500-watt sonar transmitter, and offers excellent fish arch display and bottom tracking as deep as 1,900 feet. The echo 550c is dual beam (200/77 kHz) capable and gives optimum deep or shallow water performance with up to 120 degrees of effective fish scanning area. The step down model echo 500C boasts the same aforementioned premium features, and offers a crisp 256-color QVGA display which gives 320×234-pixel resolution for extra-sharp detail on fish returns, structure and bottom soundings. Continue reading The Fish Can Swim, But They Can’t Hide

Swimsense Tracks Performance in Pool

We’ve seen no shortage of devices for tracking your progress whilst running or cycling, but what about those in the pool? In fact, we’ve often heard from various heart rate makers that it is actually difficult to track an athlete while they’re in the water. But someone has had the sense to find a way around that, and now FINIS has introduced the Swinsense (powered by SportsSense).

This groundbreaking training tool can actually capture critical performance data. It is worn much like a wrist watch and it uses an accelerometer, magnetometers and proprietary algorithms to help users identify how they swim. Out of the pool users can analyze their performance on the dive with pace times, distance (calculated in meters/yards or even laps), stroke count, stroke rate, distance-per-stroke and of course calories burned across all four major strokes.

User cans further take the performance data and have it uploaded to the FINIS Swimsense training log for additional analysis, and keep a running log with historical review. The Swimsense Performance Monitor will be available this holiday (MSRP: $199.99). Think of it as your sixth sense for your swim training.

FINIS Swimsense Performance Monitor

Hit The Links at TPC Scottsdale via aboutGolf’s PGA Tour Simulator

If you can’t make the trek to Arizona, you can still feel like you’re on the course at TPC Scottsdale, as the course is now exclusively available for aboutGolf’s PGA TOUR Simulator as part of its partnership with the PGA TOUR. All 18 holes on the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale, including the famous 16th hole stadium green and challenging 11th, a 469-yard par 4, are fully 3D rendered, which is critical to realistic play. The Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale is the second course released as part of the aboutGolf exclusive TPC Collection, which also includes TPC Sawgrass, released May 2010, and TPC Louisiana, which will be released early 2011.

“TPC Scottsdale is a perfect blend of challenge and playability,” says Tim Hawes, Senior Vice President of Retail Licensing at PGA TOUR. “aboutGolf has once again masterfully brought a TPC course to life on the PGA TOUR Simulator, making TPC Scottsdale accessible to more golfers.”

aboutGolf’s PGA TOUR Simulators use 3Trak, the most advanced machine vision golf tracking technology available in the world and advanced 3D golf-software design. aboutGolf’s graphics lead the industry, featuring highly-detailed terrain, reflective water, varying weather conditions, tee signs that can be read (and hit), and moving clouds, grass and flags that blow in the direction and intensity of the wind. The simulator uses data that is based on Global Positioning System (GPS) information and photographic survey data enabling rendering accuracy to within two inches. The TPC Collection retails for $1,500 and is now available online.

aboutGolf Pro Shop

CyclingForums.com Announces 2010 Product Review Contest

Our friends at CyclingForums announced  a new contest that will run from this coming Sunday, November 15, through December 31. The 2010 Product Review Contest is help the premier cycling website showcase its new product review feature.

The 2010 Product Review Contest will feature more than $12,000 in prizes. It will offer readers a chance to win some of the best gear in the industry, including products from Guru and Bellweather. Readers are encouraged to write a review of their favorite products, and every review will count as an entry – with winners being selected at random at the end of the contest’s run.

CyclingForums.com

Hands on: Water Bottle Round-up – Elite Corsa

KineticShift.com continues our hands on test of water bottles.

Serious athletes are often considered the elite. But does the Elite Corsa water bottle, which is used by professional cycling teams including LiquiGas and HTC during major races including the Tour de France,  have what it takes to stand up to the true elite? And does it have what it takes for those who tend to use the bottles over a season instead of tossing them to the road after a single use? Here is what we found.

Elite’s Product Description: Soft squeezable construction; New triple- function cap with soft push-pull nozzle is easy on the mouth and  delivers fluid fast; Easy to grip bottle with ergonomic shape; wide mouth opening for easy filling and cleaning; dishwasher safe and BPA- free; 550ml liquid capacity

Bottle Sizes: 550ml (approximately 22oz). The Super Corsa is available in 750ml
Plastic: Polyethylene
Country of Manufacture: Croatia
Retail Price: $7.00 (est.) Continue reading Hands on: Water Bottle Round-up – Elite Corsa